On February 5, Steelhead LNG presented to the Comox Valley Regional District on their pipeline proposal that would see 1000 km of pipe constructed to carry gas from northern BC to Powell River, under the Salish Sea, and through either the Comox Valley or a more southerly point to an LNG export facility on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

On February 27, the public is invited to a forum discussion on why this is about more than just a pipeline. Five speakers from around the province will present on “LNG, Fracking, and the Comox Valley Connection.”

Smithers resident Micheal Sawyer, who spent decades as an environmental consultant in the oil and gas sector in Alberta, will speak on the upstream effects of LNG projects (including LNG Canada and the Coastal GasLink pipeline slated to supply it), as well as the life-cycle costs to the public of such projects.

Richard Wright, Wilps Luutkudziiwus Spokesperson from Madii Lii Centre in Gitxsan territory in northern BC will discuss the Indigenous rights context surrounding extractive projects, including issues with current federal and provincial approval processes, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

Journalist and filmmaker Damien Gillis will speak to the impact of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on land and water.

Bernadette and Keith Wyton, of the Barkley Sound Alliance, will focus on the end-point of Sarita Bay and the surrounding areas, and the protections in place there that are in opposition to the proposed Kwispaa facility.

The forum is open to all and will take place from 7-9pm in the Conference Room of the Florence Filberg Centre, 411 Anderton Avenue in Courtenay. It is co-hosted by the Watershed Sentinel magazine, the Council of Canadians - Comox Valley Chapter, and the Glasswaters Foundation.